Cathy McGowan has passed on her parliamentary standards bill to the Coalition and Labor.
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The behaviour of parliamentarians and their staff would be governed by a code of conduct and an independent parliamentary standards commissioner who could refer individuals to a national integrity commission under laws proposed by the crossbench.

The independent Cathy McGowan has passed on her parliamentary standards bill to both the Coalition and Labor in the final parliamentary sitting week. McGowan would need to win the support of Labor and all seven crossbenchers to get the parliamentary bill debated on the floor of the House.

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“I am still working on Labor and the government,” McGowan said. “I haven’t given up on government so I will keep talking about it all week.

“The prime minister said [an integrity commission] was a fringe issue but that is not true. There is huge support for this broadly and particularly in my seat.”

Though it is not expected to be debated this week, the crossbench is pressuring the Coalition and Labor on the reforms to establish a national integrity commission (NIC), which have widespread support among Australian voters, according to polls.

The draft national integrity (parliamentary standards) bill is designed to work in tandem with the bill for a national integrity commission (NIC), which is still under negotiation with the Coalition – after the government passed a motion in support of a federal anti-corruption body.

The NIC bill was subsequently referred to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee which will report back to parliament on 5 April – just weeks before an expected federal election in May.

Labor committed to a national integrity commission in January though it has not outlined what form it would take under a future Labor government.

Scott Morrison has referred to a national anti-corruption body as a “fringe issue” and the Coalition remains critical of the NIC bill, with the attorney general Christian Porter claiming the definition of corruption could see ABC journalists caught up.

The parliamentary standards bill, designed by McGowan’s office with Professor AJ Brown of Griffith University, Transparency International and Dr Ken Coghill, includes a code of conduct based on the recommendations of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, of which the Australian parliament is a member.

There is currently no code of conduct for MPs and staff, and while there is a code of conduct for ministers, it is under the prime minister’s office rather than overseen by an independent office of the parliament.

If passed, the parliamentary standards bill would apply a code in which staff were required to meet the same standards as MPs.

“I wanted to include staff in particular, not because I think staff lack integrity, it’s just that we don’t have a code of conduct so that makes it difficult when we come across tricky ethical issues,” McGowan said. “It is important to have a framework.”

Staff and MPs would be overseen by a Parliamentary Integrity Adviser (PIA) to help navigate the code of conduct and a PSC who would have the powers to investigate any allegations raised both within the parliament or by the general public. Both officers would be independent of executive government.

The adviser would advise MPs and staff, oversee the register of pecuniary interests, prepare guides on conduct and ethics and publish an annual report. The commissioner would investigate any allegations raised.

McGowan’s parliamentary standards bill sets out the role of parliamentarians as “public officials who have responsibility to secure and sustain the public trust against abuse or harm”.

The code of conduct lists values in public office including selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

“The ‘bonking’ discussion highlighted that no code existed, so a ban would be like a pimple on an elephant, so it meant people tried to get something broader together,” McGowan said.

“A code and a national integrity commission was important and the whole crossbench is in favour – though Bob Katter might argue about the detail, he certainly says we need something.”

The draft bill directs MPs to not bring “discredit upon the parliament”. The proposed code says a parliamentarian “must act ethically, reasonably and in good faith” when using public resources, must not deliberately mislead the parliament or the public and must not bully or harass any person”.

It outlines the need for MPs to uphold democracy; eschew conflicts of interest and it sets out rules for accepting gifts and benefits. It states outside employment must avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest.

For example, on the use of influence, the bill states: parliamentarians “must not use their influence to improperly further their private interests, or the private interests of a specified person or organisation, or the interests of a foreign power”.

The code would also set out the rules for former MPs: “A former parliamentarian must not take improper advantage of any office held as a parliamentarian after they cease to be a parliamentarian.”

While the prime minister’s office is currently responsible for the ministerial code of conduct, the lack of enforcement on former ministers has been subject of ongoing debate.

Under the proposed laws, if a criminal offence is suspected, the allegation has to be referred to the national integrity commissioner, the Australian federal police or “another appropriate law enforcement agency”.

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Any corruption issues can be investigated by the PSC or the NIC either alone or jointly, depending on the seriousness of the allegation as well as the rights of the person who makes the referral and any need for confidentiality.

The bill sets out penalties for contraventions of a parliamentary code of conduct, which would be treated as a contempt of parliament.

Penalties imposed by the chamber could range from an apology, a fine, a formal censure or reprimand to suspension of up to two months, though the chamber would need a two-thirds majority for the latter.

The bill also would establish reviews into the rules around lobbying and political donations as well as campaign finance to institute international best practice. The bill proposes a streamlining of commonwealth, state and territory laws around political campaign finance regulations.

The bill also imposes strong penalties on staff involved in the offices for disclosing information, with penalties of up to two years’ prison.

“A person other than the parliamentary integrity advisor must not record, use or disclose information in relation to an ethics or integrity issue about another person that came to the person’s knowledge because of the person’s involvement in the administration of this act,” the bill says.